Create a Comparative Report

Use Comparative Reports to find out how your regular emails and RSS automations perform over time. Schedule and share reports, and add segments to get a better idea of how different contacts interact with your campaigns.

In this article, you'll learn how to create a Comparative Report.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• This feature is included with the Standard plan or higher.
• If you haven’t worked with Comparative Reports before, check out About Comparative Reports.
• Comparative Reports are available to account Owners, Admins, and Managers. To learn more about user permission levels, read Manage User Levels in Your Account.
• Comparative Reports can include regular emails and RSS automations sent in the last 18 months.
• RSS automations are a classic automations feature. Classic automations are only available to accounts that have previously created a classic automation.

Create a Comparative Report

To create a Comparative Report, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click Create Comparative Report.

3. If you have more than one audience, click the Select an audience drop-down and choose the one you want to work with.

   After you select an audience, we’ll display the regular emails and RSS automations sent within the last 18 months.

4. Use the Filter by section to compare campaigns that share a name, folder, send time, send days, or a minimum number of recipients.
   
   As you select filters, we'll display the sent campaigns that match your criteria. Your report will update to include future emails and RSS automations sent to your audience if they match the filters you set for the report.

5. Campaigns are selected by default, and display a checkmark to show they’re included in the report. To remove an individual campaign, click the tile and it will display a plus icon.
   
   You can also click Select All or Deselect All.

6. Click Compare Campaigns to run your Comparative Report. Note that the button text will include the number of campaigns you've selected.

We'll generate your report in the background and notify you in your Profile menu when it’s done.

You can work elsewhere in your account while you wait, or add segments to your report to get audience engagement data on specific sets of contacts.

Your Comparative Report is saved on the Reports page under the Comparative tab. We'll display a status icon to let you know your results are updating. When your results are ready, you can generate your first Snapshot. For information on status icons, read About Comparative Reports.

Generate a snapshot

A Snapshot is the final report that's generated each time you run a Comparative Report. It shows how your campaigns have performed up to that point in time. You can schedule, share, or export your Snapshots.

To generate a Snapshot, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click the Comparative tab.
   

3. Click the Finalize Report drop-down for the report you want to work with, then select Generate Snapshot. Note that a Finalize Report status requires at least one tracked activity greater than 0%.
   It may take a moment for your Snapshot to generate on the Report History page. This is where we'll store all the Snapshots for your report.

4. When your Snapshot is finished, click View Snapshot.

You can visit the Report History page at any time to view the Snapshots for your report. To get to your Report History page from the Comparative tab, click the drop-down next to Edit Report, then click View Report History.

Schedule a Snapshot

If you plan to frequently use comparative data, schedule a report to generate a Snapshot weekly or daily at a specific time.

To schedule a report Snapshot, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click the Comparative tab.
   

3. Click the drop-down for the report you want to work with, then select Schedule report.
   

4. In the Schedule this report pop-up modal, set when you want to generate Snapshots, then click Schedule Report.
   

5. After you schedule the report, a clock icon appears next to your report on the Reports page with the next run date and time.
   

Unschedule a Snapshot

To unschedule a Snapshot, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click the Comparative tab.
   

3. Click the drop-down for the report you want to work with, then select Unschedule report.

That’s it! You’ve unscheduled a report, which means automatic Snapshots will no longer generate.

Share a Snapshot

Share your Snapshot with customers or key stakeholders. You can only share reports that have at least one Snapshot.

To share a Snapshot, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click the Comparative tab.
   

3. Click the drop-down for the report you want to work with, then select Share latest Snapshot.

4. In the Share latest snapshot pop-up modal, enter up to 5 email addresses separated by commas, then click Share.

Awesome! You’ve shared your latest Snapshot.

To share older Snapshots, click the drop-down for the report you want to send on the Report History page, then click Download CSV. Once the CSV file downloads, share it with anyone you’d like.

You can also schedule, unschedule, and share a Snapshot from the Report History page.

Add a segment to a Comparative Report

To learn how specific contacts engage with your campaigns over time, add segments or groups of segments to your Comparative Report. Add segments to your report when you create it, or add segments later on the Report Preview page.

To add a segment to a Comparative Report, follow these steps.

1. Click Analytics, then click Reports.

2. Click the Comparative tab.
   

3. Click Edit Report or Finalize Report next to the report you want to work with. Comparative Reports that don’t have a Report Preview or Snapshot yet are still in a draft state and will show Finalize Report.

4. In the Results section of the Report Preview page, click Add segment to report.
   
   If your report shows the Edit Report button, you’ll need to first set your report details and click Compare Campaigns before you reach the Report Preview page.

5. Enter a name for your segment and add as many conditions as you’d like. Add the conditions to a group if you’re looking at several related conditions.

6. When you’re ready, click Add Segment To Report.

It may take time for your segment to generate on the Report Preview page depending on the conditions you set. When your segment generates, compare the results to the baseline data shown in the Results section. You can add up to 4 segments to a report, and each segment can include as many conditions as you’d like. Edit, remove, or replace your segments at any time from the Report Preview page.

For more information about how to use segments with your Comparative Reports, check out About Comparative Reports.